Quotes from the final regular day of Spring Practice (Week 4 Day 4)

Ferd had a great note in the Advertiser today:
"Of all the marks UH set last year — and there were 28 NCAA records that fell to the Warriors — this was the most remarkable. Milne's inactivity blew away one of the oldest existing NCAA standards — and not just by a little. The previous mark was two punts per game, set by Nevada in 1949, according to an NCAA spokesman." (HA)


Nervous about the draft, Samson Satele said:
"I'm usually a calm person. But I'm telling you, I'm so nervous I can't even sleep at night." (HA)

Note: At least Samson and Ikaika shouldn't have to wait until Sunday to find out if they will be drafted...


About not reading the mock drafts or internet reports, Samson said:
"I took a peek once, and it got me kind of mad. All they do is talk, talk, talk." (HA)

Note: All scouts do is look for negatives in their evaluations, and they do pick over everything.


About how he lifts weights at UH from 9-11 and does running drills from 3-4:30, Samson added:
"I try to do a lot of stretching. That's what we learned when we trained in Houston." (HA)


About how all but a few NFL teams seem to want him to play center, Samson said:
"It doesn't matter to me. I'll play guard, wherever." (HA)


About how he's watched the televised draft every year, Samson said:
"Now it's finally my turn. I can't believe it. It's weird. My heart is beating faster than ever." (HA)


About how he went grocery shopping yesterday to prepare for his draft party, Samson said:
"Regular stuff for a barbecue party. It's going to be a nice family gathering. You know, I've been playing football for 15 years," he added. "The draft is hours away instead of 15 years away. It's amazing that I'm in this position. It brings tears to my eyes when I think about it." (HA)

Note: I am so happy for Samson and his family!


About the draft, Nate Ilaoa said:
"I'm just trying to lay low and relax. There's nothing I can do now. I don't plan on watching a lot, I'm just waiting to see what happens." (HSB)


About how the NFL is looking at him at DE, DT, OT, TE, and OLB, Alama-Francis said:
"Hey, I'll punt if they want me to. The more you can do, the more valuable you are. I'm ready to do whatever they want me to do. I don't have a choice, anyway." (HSB)

Note: My personal preference for Ikaika is DE, that is where I think he can best use his skills and that is a huge need (and huge $$) for NFL teams.


Asked how much of a signing bonus he got from the NFL, Ikaika's Dad Joe laughed and said:
"Such a thing didn't exist. I drove to Green Bay (from Corvallis, Ore.), paying my own way, and I negotiated a $10,000 contract for that first year. I was just excited about the chance to play pro football." (HSB)


About Ikaika, his agent Frank Bauer said:
"The thing about Ikaika is this is a big man who can run. And when you look at former basketball players, they usually don't bring the kind of force he does. On film, he looks like he played football all his life, but he doesn't have any bad habits." (HSB)


About the positive feedback he's been getting lately, Uperesa said:
"The good thing is I'm hearing from a lot of teams. Some of it is agents trying to build up competition between teams. You can't get your hopes too high or too low. I've just got to take it as excitement and nothing else." (HSB)


About Tala Esera, his agent Max Hannemann said:
"A lot of teams are calling, telling him to be ready. He's just excited to know where he will end up. With a wife and three children a lot is riding on it for a lot of people." (HSB)



Asked if he can live up to the legend of himself from the 1999 season, GM laughed and said:
"Now you've got me nervous." (HSB)


About why he left UH (for the highest-paid college assistant coach job in the country), GM said:
"It was just financially, the situation -- June even told me I had to go." (HSB)


Asked why he left Texas Tech, GM said:
"Well, the pros pay a lot, too." (HSB)


About how he can now settle down in UH since he's made his money, GM said:
"Now I can do what I want and be with who I want. And I want to be with June, and my wife and I love Hawaii, so now we can do what we want to do. And that's what I wanted to do in the first place." (HSB)

"My year in Hawaii, I've told June and everybody, was the most magical year of my career. And it was the greatest coaching feeling that I've ever had." (HSB)


About accepting the scholarship offer from UH on his 17th birthday, 6'3" 195-pound CB (40 time is 4.4) Daniel "Deedle" Smith said:
"It made a good birthday present." (HA)


About how he might graduate from high school early (he has a 3.5 GPA and already got a qualifying SAT score) and join the team in January 2008, Smith said:
"Coming in early is an option." (HA)


Smith's friends had told him to "do what feels right" if he got an offer from UH, and Smith said:
"Hawai'i feels right." (HA)


About the unofficial visit with his Mom that Smith took to UH 2 weeks ago, Smith said:
"It felt like I was back home. The coaches were very nice. There was great chemistry among the players. The guys seemed like they were really close. It felt like a family." (HA)

Note: So, UH gets a 6'3" 195-pound CB with 4.4 speed to commit to them as a junior and he PAID HIS OWN WAY for the recruiting visit to UH. Syracuse, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Illinois, Cornell and Holy Cross are interested in Smith.


About how his family moved to Charlottee last summer, Smith said:
"I love it here. I'm going to love it in Hawai'i, too." (HA)


About how it wasn't a hard decision to not enter the NFL draft after last season, Rivers said:
"After being out so long and coming back and having something special with the guys, it's something you can't pass up another opportunity for. I gave it a thought, a brief thought. I didn't think long about it. More people were telling me they heard I was going out. But I knew I was coming back before the (2006) season ended." (HA)


About how yesterday was his first day of Spring Practice because JJ wanted the younger guys to get the repetitions, Rivers said:
"I'm OK with it. The younger guys need to learn." (HA)

Note: Plus, since JJ moved Bess and Grice-Mullins to wideout so that younger players could get experience at slot, JJ needed to reduce the reps of other wideouts to give Bess and Grice-Mullins time. Instead of taking away reps from a young player who is trying to learn the wideout position, it made sense to have Rivers sit out since he didn't need the work.


About working on his speed through sprinting, distance running, and resistance training, even running sprints with a parachute attached to his back, Rivers said:
"I want to be a leader. I hope my teammates think of me as one." (HA)

Note: A 5th year senior who had such a huge end of the season...I think Rivers is looked up to.


Praising Kealoha Pilares, RB coach Wes Suan said:
"He's a guy who shows a lot of intelligence. He's turning up all his learning senses. He's receptive and can decipher all the information and put it into the physical. It all makes sense to him." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Freshman Kealoha Pilares -- known as a shifty and explosive runner as a prep star -- has also made good progress as a blocker. Running backs coach Wes Suan said that improves the 5-foot-10, 187-pound Damien product's chances for meaningful playing time in the fall. ... Jason Laumoli, Khevin Peoples, David Farmer and Alonzo Chopp also got a lot of reps yesterday."


About being the #1 RB right now, Pilares said:
"Just being in there with Colt (Brennan) and Davone (Bess) and Jason (Rivers) feels great. I watched them last year." (HA)


About how he has only been used as a rusher now, Pilares said:
"Whenever I go in there, the defense knows I'm running the ball. I want to work on my blocking." (HA)

"It's coming along. I'm watching film. Every day coach (Wes Suan) is telling me certain things to help me. I won't be a Reagan, who can knock down people. I have to get in the way of people, basically." (HA)


About working on the inside-out blocking technique and the cut block technique for bigger defenders, Pilares said:
"I'm going to work on a lot of things this summer." (HA)

Note: Ultimately, Pilares' ability to block will determine his playing time.


Speedy 5'11" 202-pound Peoples talked about how he needs to work on his blocking:
"I'm working on the blocking coverages based on what the defenses show us. I pretty much have it down 100 percent -- you just have to put it into action on the field. We throw the ball most of the time in the game, so we have to be able to protect Colt (quarterback Brennan)." (HSB)


About how Famer is the most reliable blocker, Suan said:
"It's knowing what you're doing, and not so much having to demolish a guy, but just knowing what you're doing so you can protect the quarterback. With no doubt, Dave Farmer is doing that the best, technique and assignment-wise." (HSB)


Famer, who is a walk-on from Santa Cruz, is pushing hard for playing time:
"This year I'm really trying to make a push to be the starter. I'm staying out here all summer. I've always been on top of my stuff and ready to go in, whatever the coaches need, whatever they ask me. I'm trying to be the man this year. I'm never really satisfied." (HSB)


Praising 6' 245-pound walk-on Chopp, Suan said:
"The other guy I've been pleasantly surprised with is Alonzo Chopp. He's been here for a while, but he's starting to really get the idea of technique and assignment. If you continually do what's right, eventually the coaches see he's getting the job done and he's deserving of (repetitions)." (HSB)


About the other RB candidates like Reyo and Cox, Suan said:
"It's tough to get everybody opportunities. They have to be very observant during practice, and small successes lead to big successes -- a chance to be evaluated and see where they end up in the pecking order. It's so hard to tell now (who might start and play in the fall). But what usually happens is someone steps up. In Coach's (June Jones) offense, for the running back to get on the field it's to help with the protection." (HSB)


About how Timo Paepule and Rustin Saole now lead their haka, Paepule said:
"These are my brothers, so whatever they want. Colt came up to me, said, 'Hey, we gotta do it, you or Rustin. Davone (Bess), too. We're carrying on the tradition. I don't have Maori . I respect the New Zealand people. We're using their haka, and we don't mean to disrespect them in any way. It's just something we picked up from the older guys before us and it pumps us up." (HSB)


JJ said that the Spring Ohana Festival will include some contact, excluding:
"Colt and the first group." (HSB)